Helen Dale Dixon

Helen Dale Dixon, age 89, of Mt. Carroll, Illinois, died Thursday, October 12, 2006 at Carroll County Good Samaritan Center, Mt. Carroll, Illinois. Pursuant to her wishes, Helen’s family has given the gift of donating her body to science. A Memorial Service will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, October 27, 2006, at the First Baptist Church in Mt. Carroll, Illinois. Reverend Bob Ziebarth will officiate. A memorial in Helen’s name has been established for Carroll County Good Samaritan Center.
Helen was born April 10, 1917, in Fort Dodge, Kansas, the daughter of Fred and Mabel (Long) Frisch. On May 8, 1942, Helen married William "Bill" Dixon, in Chicago, Illinois. Bill died on August 20, 1964 in Mt. Carroll, Illinois.
Helen grew up in Hutchinson, Kansas and was a 1934 graduate from Hutchinson High School. Her mother taught her piano at an early age,and by sixteen she was taking the bus monthly from Hutchinson to Chicago to study under Rudolph Ganz at the Chicago Musical College. She later received a Bachelors of Music from Chicago Musical College and a Master of Arts from the University of Chicago. She then completed further graduate studies at DePaul University, University of Chicago where she took private piano lessons from Gustav Dunkelberger, and Northwestern University where she took private piano lessons with Gui Mombaerts. Helen taught piano in Chicago at the Chicago Musical College 1944-1949 and at North Park College 1952-1957. She also performed piano recitals on radio stations in Hutchinson, Kansas and Evanston and Chicago, Illinois. On November 9,1953 she was the featured pianist for the Centennial Celebration of Steinway and Sons in Chicago.
In 1957 she moved to Mt. Carroll where she taught piano, music and literature at Shimer College and gave annual solo recitals. Upon the closing of Shimer College she became an artist-in-residence with the Highland Area Arts Council, Freeport, Illinois.
Helen gave private piano lessons to area residents from her home in Mt. Carroll for a quarter of a century. Helen’s interests beyond piano included reading of Latin, English, French and German, sewing, gardening and watercolor painting.
Helen is survived by two sisters; Barbara Jane Howard of Burlington, Iowa and Amy Alice Peak of Kansas City, Kansas; three nieces; Jennifer Howard of Flushing, Michigan, Nancy VanZee of Denison, Texas and Kathleen Silvagni of Colorado Springs, Colorado; two nephews, Dick Howard of Sperry, Iowa and Allan Peak of Kansas City, Kansas; four great-nieces and nephews and five great-great nieces and nephews.